What a mess

Sitting beside Liu Muye, Nangong Ye watched the scene unfold and, for once, cracked a smile.

Liu Muye turned to him and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Nangong Ye lowered his voice and replied, "Don’t you think Han Juyou is lively, adorable, and full of quirky charm? She’s really interesting."

"Are you out of your mind?" Liu Muye shot a furtive glance at Han Juyou, who was absorbed in her book, then leaned closer to Nangong Ye and whispered, "Listen, that ‘lively and adorable’ act is just a front. She’s got a terrible temper, she’s scheming, petty, and holds grudges. You don’t stand a chance with a girl like that. You absolutely cannot fall for her, got it?"

"Huh?" Nangong Ye scratched his head, puzzled. "I do think she’s interesting, but that doesn’t mean I like her. Besides, why are you so worked up? After spending time with her these past few days, Han Juyou isn’t nearly as bad as you’re making her out to be."

"Uh…" Liu Muye gritted his teeth. "Just promise me you won’t like her, okay?"

Seeing Liu Muye’s intense reaction, Nangong Ye thought to himself:

Every time I mention Han Juyou, Liu Muye gets all fired up. Could it be… he likes her?

Yeah, that’s probably it.

As Liu Muye’s good bro (because guys’ friendships form in the weirdest ways), Nangong Ye decided right then and there: I’ve got to help him out!

With that realization, Nangong Ye’s eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs-up. "Got it!"

"Good." Liu Muye patted Nangong Ye’s shoulder in relief.

Nangong Ye met Liu Muye’s gaze with determination, silently vowing: Don’t worry, bro. I’ll make sure you win Han Juyou’s heart!

The two of them chatted with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, completely oblivious to how it might look. But Shangguan Yurou, sitting behind them, misinterpreted the whole scene.

She saw the way Nangong Ye was gazing "longingly" at Liu Muye, and her pupils trembled as if she’d stumbled upon some earth-shattering secret—Does Nangong Ye have feelings for Liu Muye?

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Shangguan Yurou clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. Suddenly, everything made sense: why Nangong Ye always seemed indifferent when talking to her, why he avoided eye contact.

Is it because he’s not into girls?

In reality, Nangong Ye did have a crush on Shangguan Yurou but was too shy to show it, so he played it cool during their conversations.

But thanks to Shangguan Yurou’s overactive imagination, the situation had taken a wild turn.

And when Liu Muye had helped Nangong Ye back earlier, saying, "He’s actually in great shape too," Shangguan Yurou became even more convinced—Their relationship is definitely not normal.

Meanwhile, Han Juyou wasn’t actually working on her math problems. Instead, she absentmindedly doodled character relationship charts for her novel on scratch paper.

Every now and then, she’d recall Liu Muye’s resolute words to her:

"You can pay me back after you become a famous writer and earn royalties."

She stole a glance at Liu Muye’s back as he sat in front of her, and before she knew it, a smile tugged at her lips.

To summarize the current mess:

- Liu Muye, hearing Nangong Ye praise Han Juyou, assumed he’d been fooled by her charming facade, just like in the original plot.

- Nangong Ye, seeing how much Liu Muye cared about Han Juyou, mistakenly believed Liu Muye had a crush on her and vowed to play wingman.

- Shangguan Yurou, witnessing the two guys being all buddy-buddy, jumped to the conclusion that Nangong Ye was into Liu Muye.

- As for Han Juyou? She was already nursing a quiet crush on Liu Muye.

And just like that, the plot had spiraled into chaos.

Yet Liu Muye, the unwitting instigator of it all, remained blissfully unaware.

---

After surviving the afternoon’s math class, Liu Muye exhaled deeply, feeling like he’d been reborn the moment he stepped out of the classroom.

If I’d known the math in finance would be this hard, he thought, I should’ve switched to Chinese literature during freshman orientation. That way, the original plot wouldn’t have derailed, and I could’ve enjoyed being a carefree rich kid.

Instead, here he was—no longer living the cushy life, constantly worrying about the story’s trajectory (though he didn’t yet realize it had already gone off the rails).

Growl—

His stomach betrayed him with an audible protest.

Shaking his head, Liu Muye muttered, "Whatever. Food first, overthinking later."

He lingered by the classroom door, waiting for Han Juyou to pack up her bag so they could head to the cafeteria together.

Girls took their time gathering their things, so Han Juyou and Shangguan Yurou were among the last to leave.

"Yurou, I’ll catch up with you later. I’m eating with Liu Muye today," Han Juyou said.

She’d already explained the shared meal card situation to Shangguan Yurou at lunch, so no further details were needed.

"Okay," Shangguan Yurou nodded.

The moment the two walked off, Nangong Ye approached and said softly, "I’d like to try the cafeteria food, but I don’t have a meal card. Could you swipe yours for me?"

"Huh?" Shangguan Yurou blinked in surprise. "You, the young master of the Nangong family, actually want to eat cafeteria food?"

"I have Liu Muye to thank for that," Nangong Ye replied, lips curving into a faint smile. "He encouraged me to try new things, to step out of my comfort zone. I think he’s right."

Shangguan Yurou’s eyes widened, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

Try… new things?

They… encouraged each other?

This is insane!

By the time Nangong Ye’s words reached her ears, they’d taken on a whole new meaning.

At that moment, Shangguan Yurou became even more convinced—Nangong Ye was into Liu Muye. And for some reason, her chest suddenly felt hollow.

"Shangguan? Shangguan?"

Nangong Ye’s voice snapped her back to reality.

"So… can you swipe your card for me?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Shangguan Yurou replied distractedly. "Let’s go to the cafeteria."

"Great."

Nangong Ye nodded, pleased. If Shangguan Yurou agreed to buy him food, that meant she was willing to eat with him—and eating together was a step closer to deepening their relationship.

The thought made him happy, though he kept his expression carefully neutral.

Truthfully, Nangong Ye had developed feelings for Shangguan Yurou back in the infirmary. Since then, he’d found himself paying more attention to her.

The more he noticed, the more he admired her.

He liked her. More and more.

...